Monica Mawoyo

Sharing of higher education teaching materials under open licenses is a growing global practice. Several models of adapting and sharing existing materials include: institutionally-driven initiatives that result in materials being shared, mostly through repositories; cascade models that have a strong mentoring component; use of network repositories; and conversion of commercial teaching resources for sharing as open educational resources (OER). The processes followed in these models are similar in many respects.

As guest editors of this Special Issue of Distance Education, this issue harnesses the opportunity to profile African innovations in the areas of open and distance learning, and e-learning. The contributions assembled provide a balanced and engaging series of articles and reports on the kinds of empowerment and development that are extending and enhancing educational opportunity in African schools and universities. Importantly, they also demonstrate that African experiences – positive and negative – have global relevance.